POLICE stopped and searched 44 members of the public in Wrexham at the weekend in a high profile crackdown on knives – but failed to find any.

Operation Vacilant saw teams of officers on high-visibility patrol in the Hightown area of the town.

Officers admitted that no knives or other weapons were recovered but hailed the operation as a success anyway.

Two people were arrested – one for whom a warrant had been issued and another on suspicion of going equipped.

Two others were also issued with fixed penalty notices for being drunk and disorderly.

The operation on Saturday night was carried out with the aim of reassuring the local community that police were taking a proactive and robust approach regarding knife crime.

They acted under stop and search powers of Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, following a recent spate of incidents involving knives.

The majority of these have been domestic-related incidents where kitchen knives have been used.

District Inspector Chris Beasley said: “We haven’t got a knife carrying culture here in Wrexham but we can never be complacent. We have already had domestic type incidents this year, whereby knives have been used.

“We are taking an active role in preventing knife crime and making our communities safer.

“Ordinary law-abiding citizens do not want to see their communities blighted by violence and we are doing everything we can through legislation, law enforcement and are working with communities and our partners to prevent knife crime.

“Last night’s operation was a success and we want to make it clear that we will be proactive in tackling the misuse of knives and that for us, tackling knife crime is high on the agenda,” added Inspector Beasley.